I have to admit that I get my nose a little bit out of joint when people start talking about how ‘soft’ Tom Gilbert is. I realize that he’s a 6’4” finesse defenceman who writes funny things in his blog over at the Oilers’ official site, but I think there is at least one item that should throw the ‘soft’ description out the window.

That item is shot-blocking.

In 2010-11, Tom Gilbert (pictured above) has blocked 156 shots (on pace for 188). There are a few ways to look at that total. It is…

43 more blocks than the Oilers second-ranked player, Theo Peckham

The fourth highest total in the entire NHL

78 times as many blocks as tough guy Steve MacIntyre has

An indication that Tom Gilbert isn’t a good enough skater to get out of the way of the puck.

In 2009-10, Tom Gilbert (pictured above along with friends watching a playoff game) blocked 165 shots. Once again, there are a few ways to look at that number. It is…

26 more blocks than second-ranked Jason Strudwick, and 74 more than the next closest player.

The 10th highest total in the entire NHL

More than five times as many as Sheldon Souray, who at that point in time still had his name mentioned by fans in the same sentence as ‘next captain of the team.’

Proof that Tom Gilbert is a turnover machine; if he didn’t turn the puck over so many times people wouldn’t shoot it at him so often.

In 2008-09, Tom Gilbert (pictured above, unsuccessfully hawking bicycle tires) blocked 136 shots. As usual, there are a few different comparisons we might make with that number. It is…

The second-highest total on the team, 21 back of Steve Staios and 49 more than the next closest player.

The 32nd highest total in the NHL.

Twice as many as half the defencemen on the team (Souray, Smid, and Strudwick) managed.

A number that just goes to show how strange professional athletes are – here’s a guy who lives in abject terror of contact with a hockey player on the other team, but likes getting hit by a vulcanized rubber disc moving at incredible speed.

In 2007-08, Tom Gilbert (pictured above, with BFF Robert Nilsson) blocked 159 shots. Once again, there is more than one perspective on that total. It is…

The second-highest total on the team, 28 back of Steve Staios and 64 more than the next closest Oiler.

The 11th highest total in the league.

More than the 14 lowest-ranked Oilers combined.

Further proof of the poor quality of Tom Gilbert’s hockey sense – we know he can’t be doing it deliberately, because he’s so soft, so he must just be dumb.

In 326 games split over four full NHL seasons and a 12-game call-up in 2006-07, Tom Gilbert has put his body in front of a puck speeding at his own net a grand total of 636 times. Maybe it’s just me, but that kind of consistent, game-in and game-out commitment to sacrificing his body to block shots means that I’d be hesitant to use the word ‘soft’ as my principle standby for describing his play.

Is Gilbert a physical defenceman? No. But words like soft, weak, timid, and afraid are not ones I would use to describe him. I don’t think they fit the available data.

Jonathan Willis is a freelance writer.
He currently works for Oilers Nation, Sportsnet and Bleacher Report.
He's co-written three books and worked for myriad websites, including the Edmonton Journal, Grantland, ESPN, The Score, and Hockey Prospectus. He was previously the founder and managing editor of Copper & Blue.

So Green passes to OvenChicken and Backstrom, Keith and Seabrook to Toews, Kane, Sharp, Doughty to Kopitar, Smyth and Williams. Gilbert passes Horcoff, Cogliano and a bunch of rookies. Of course they are a bigger part of their teams scoring, because their teams actually have scoring. I'm sure most of our lack of scoring is Gilberts fault though.

Gilbert is not physical. So what. Out of the top 50 in defensive scoring (Gilbert is 51st) there are maybe 15 that play a real physical game. Our team is the worst team in the league and Gilbert has put up more points than 10 top pairing Dmen in the league.

Gilbert is not Weber, Burns, or Seabrook and he never will be. Get over it. It doesn't mean he isn't effective and earning his paycheck.

Of course Gilbert has the offensive cast around him that those other guys do to, so it's such an even and valid comparison.

Cogliano, Gagner, Brule, all small guys who don't know what a backcheck is, and then a bunch of rookies. Yeah, we should be scoring way more with those guys and it also is unfathomable that we end up hemmed in our own end with these guys on the ice. I'm sure Gilbert throwing a couple more hits a game would fix that right up. Damn you and your brutally soft play Gilbert. You are killing this team.

My suspicion is that if we tallied up the number of times each of those defenceman carried the puck out of their own end or made that first pass, Gilbert would be right up near the top of the list thanks to the minutes he's playing and who he has been partnered with, and that's the reason for the number of giveaways. Many passes = many giveaways, and there's too much noise for giveaways to mean anything as a result.

As for his offence, I agree with you, but I'd argue that Gilbert's usage this season (i.e. in way over his head as the #1 shutdown option on a bad team, generally with either an inexperienced or even less qualified partner) is impacting his production in a major way.

In any case, I wasn't really trying to compare Gilbert to a guy like Duncan Keith; I was simply trying to point out that a raw giveaway number is essentially meaningless.

Of course Gilbert has the offensive cast around him that those other guys do to, so it's such an even and valid comparison.

Cogliano, Gagner, Brule, all small guys who don't know what a backcheck is, and then a bunch of rookies. Yeah, we should be scoring way more with those guys and it also is unfathomable that we end up hemmed in our own end with these guys on the ice. I'm sure Gilbert throwing a couple more hits a game would fix that right up. Damn you and your brutally soft play Gilbert. You are killing this team.

I think you are out to lunch Kodiak. Those are some of the three harder back checkers on our team.

The question is: if Gilbert lacks physical courage - which is generally what people are getting at when they call him soft - why does he block shots, an act that requires physical courage.

My conclusion is that Gilbert doesn't lack physical courage, he lacks a mean streak. Those two things are very different.

It might be fair to consider that the amount of minutes Tom is playing factors into how physical he can allow himself to be. It takes a ton of energy to play hard (to hit and be hit). Being as smart as he is, I'd bet he's pacing himself to manage the minutes. You may very well see a far more physical Gilbert if he was playing 17 minutes a game instead of the 27 or so he's tasked with.

Certainly not trying to be a sh** disturber here, and I do like Tom Gilbert as a defenseman. But I also know that in the NHL statistician's guidelines, a blocked shot does not necessarily mean you are "sacrificing your body". Blocked shots include any puck headed toward the net which is deflected and/or blocked with the blade or shaft of a stick or can go off a skate in front of the net. Still gets recorded as a blocked shot. I do not know the percentage of Gilberts blocked shots that would be with the body vs with the stick but nonetheless. So not all blocked shots are a sacrifice of the body.

1.
yielding readily to touch or pressure; easily penetrated, divided, or changed in shape; not hard or stiff: a soft pillow.
2.
relatively deficient in hardness, as metal or wood.
3.
smooth and agreeable to the touch; not rough or coarse: a soft fabric; soft skin.
4.
producing agreeable sensations; pleasant or comfortable: soft slumber.
5.
low or subdued in sound; gentle and melodious: soft music; a soft voice.
6.
not harsh or unpleasant to the eye; not glaring: soft light; a soft color.
7.
not hard or sharp: soft outlines.
8.
gentle or mild: soft breezes.
9.
genial or balmy, as climate or air.
10.
gentle, mild, warm-hearted, or compassionate: a soft, grandmotherly woman.
11.
smooth, soothing, or ingratiating: soft words.
12.
not harsh or severe, as a penalty or demand.
13.
responsive or sympathetic to the feelings, emotions, needs, etc., of others; tender-hearted.
14.
sentimental or flowery, as language: soft, meaningless talk.
15.
not strong or robust; delicate; incapable of great endurance or exertion: He was too soft for the Marines.

Certainly not trying to be a sh** disturber here, and I do like Tom Gilbert as a defenseman. But I also know that in the NHL statistician's guidelines, a blocked shot does not necessarily mean you are "sacrificing your body". Blocked shots include any puck headed toward the net which is deflected and/or blocked with the blade or shaft of a stick or can go off a skate in front of the net. Still gets recorded as a blocked shot. I do not know the percentage of Gilberts blocked shots that would be with the body vs with the stick but nonetheless. So not all blocked shots are a sacrifice of the body.

Yes, you are right. It does not mean that, but have you actually watched the Oilers play and see how often he takes one in the body? It's a lot.

Also I don't think you get to be near the top ten in the league without blocking them every which way you can.

I still remember Horcoff blocking one in the playoffs with his face. Now I don't know whether that is courage or stupidity or a little of both but wow.

I appreciate his talent for blocking shots, but being there is way more to being a top 4 d man, like taking the body, clearing the front of the net, putting the fear of God into forwards, not giving the puck away. In a perfect world, he would be a number 4 dman, with a tough hombre for a partner.

I never thought of Gilbert as soft so much as he just seems to jumpy and unsure what to do at times. He suffered from it greatly at the beginning of the season but got a lot better, imo, when whitney went down. He has had some ups and downs but is better than he was at the start. Lidstrom isnt a giant hitter so is he soft?

Gilbert is soft. He regularly bails on the puck and turns away from the play to avoid a hit. He gives the puck away in so doing resulting in numerous give aways. He blocks shots...lovely. He also can be seen standing around at the edge of the blue paint watching an opposing forward hammer the loose pucks into the net. I can't recall the last time he parked someone on their pants in front of the net. On the powerplay??? Geve me a break!!

It's nice that he has a niche (blocking shots), but a niche isn't enough on this Oiler blueline.

This team does not have an abundance of Getzlaf type forwards. I mean, do you think any opposition player is concerned about getting hit from Cogs, Gagner, Brule, Eberle, Omark or Hemsky?

I have no problem with a Gilbert paired with a Shea Weber/Duncan Keith type defenceman on a team with more bruisers up front, but on a team with smurfs up front, you need more toughness and that proverbial mean streak from the d.

Gilbert doesn't hit, along the boards or otherwise, or clear the front of the net, and he seems to shy away from contact when other players initiate (perhaps the reason for his games played streak).

He's a good player, but I am not convinced he is a fit for THIS Oilers team. Put him on the Bruins with Chara (recent behaviour aside) and Lucic and he would probably thrive.

Successful teams are made up of complementary players, and sadly this Oilers team lacks synergies. Until the Oilers start focusing on the bigger picture, we will continue to see this mish-mash of players, some good, but that can't WIN together because the peices don't fit.

Nice article J Dub, I am of the opinion that Gilbert is a good 2nd pairing defenseman, even though I got ridiculed for making that point at another website that shall remain nameless. I think our problem in Edmonton is we've got a thoroughbred pulling a tractor. Good horse, wrong usage. PK is not Gilby's forte. Puckmoving defenseman? Check.
In fact, I would wager that had we a stronger and more experienced forward ranks, Gilby could easily be a 35-40 pt defenseman.
Just wait till Hall starts parking more of those passes. Look out.

I think you are out to lunch Kodiak. Those are some of the three harder back checkers on our team.

Gagner is so good at back checking he leads the team in scoring and is a -17. My point is our forwards are mostly small, soft and young. As a group we are not very good at supporting our D, clearing the zone effectively or having decent zone coverage. This puts a lot more pressure on the D. That leads to turnovers and a lack of offensive pressure.

Every Dman Gilbert is being compared to has a lot more experienced, bigger, more skilled team in front of them. I bet Lidstrom would have half the points he does and be -10 on this sad sack team.

I appreciate his talent for blocking shots, but being there is way more to being a top 4 d man, like taking the body, clearing the front of the net, putting the fear of God into forwards, not giving the puck away. In a perfect world, he would be a number 4 dman, with a tough hombre for a partner.

Yes, you are right. It does not mean that, but have you actually watched the Oilers play and see how often he takes one in the body? It's a lot.

Also I don't think you get to be near the top ten in the league without blocking them every which way you can.

I still remember Horcoff blocking one in the playoffs with his face. Now I don't know whether that is courage or stupidity or a little of both but wow.

I can assure you that it is not possible for anyone to watch more Oilers games than I do. My point is merely that shot blocking does not necessarily equate to sacrificing your body, and I am not aware of any official stats kept that would measure body blocks vs other blocks.

This is not a slight to Tom Gilbert, merely a fact. This is also not to say that you are either right or wrong in your thoughts. However, there are no stats kept on how often Gilbert may or may not take one in the body. Your quote that "It's a lot" is opinion only and I doubt that you have kept a ledger to measure it.

Having said that, you are right that with the number of blocks credited to him, he is likely blocking them in many ways. And in the end maybe that's all that really matters, being in position to make the block and presumably reduce the oppositions scoring chances.

The only reason Tom Gilbert has so many blocked shots is because he's one of the worst defenseman in the NHL at clearing his zone. He constantly gives the puck away in his own zone which results in the other team getting a lot of shots while he's out there, some are bound to hit his dumb ass.

Just watched Duncan "marshmallow" Keith get done playing the Caps. People who say this guy is good defensively are just flat out lying to your face. Everytime I watch this guy he is making bad plays or not hitting anyone.

Gilbert is soft. He regularly bails on the puck and turns away from the play to avoid a hit. He gives the puck away in so doing resulting in numerous give aways. He blocks shots...lovely. He also can be seen standing around at the edge of the blue paint watching an opposing forward hammer the loose pucks into the net. I can't recall the last time he parked someone on their pants in front of the net. On the powerplay??? Geve me a break!!